Hello Nicole, very pleased to meet you, too!
Actually, I am not working for that company (I mean, Brides2Love) - it was one of our clients (and we are still working together; it’s a small world, and the employer works at the same University where I do). I’m a web programmer, and Brides2Love is one of the sites we gave life to. I’ve been working for my company for almost a year, and this is not the only my job - I am also a teacher at the CompSci department in our University…
How I envy you your knowledge of Latin, Sidle Jinks! Did you have it as a school subject as they have in Germany – or, at least, they used to? I’m also curious to know if you have the opportunity of putting it to some use (other than kindly enlightening us on the forum, that is!).
When we sing sacred music in Latin (chants, motets, etc.), we often only have a general idea of what the texts mean, unfortunately, unless they are common prayers. Usually, the music alone is enough to give you the goose pimples or make your eyes tear. Yet I wish I could also be more familiar with Latin to fully grasp the composer’s message and emotions.
By the way, have any of you heard Michael Bolton’s rendition of Schubert’s Ave Maria? His beautiful voice has a ‘je ne sais quoi’ that has me all blue and sad…in a wonderful way – the truth is that most of his songs have this effect on me.
In the English-speaking world, how you pronounce anything in Latin depends on which pronunciation standard you use. There is an American one for classical scholarship and one for Catholic ecclesiastical use, both of which are different from the way Latin pronunciation is taught in most of Europe.
In America, both in church and in school, I have heard Jesu pronounced only as [ye:zu]. However, I don’t doubt that there are people who pronounce the initial letter like an English J.
All I can see is little squares…